Ground maintenance vehicles for performing a variety of tasks are known. For instance, vehicles designed for or having attachments useful for mowing, fertilizing, aerating, dethatching, vacuuming/blowing, and the like are available. While the present invention is applicable to most any ground maintenance vehicle or, for that matter, to most any type of vehicle, it will, for the sake of brevity, be described with respect to riding lawn mowers having a cutting deck with one or more cutting blades associated therewith.
Traditional riding mowers, e.g., those typically having four wheels wherein the front wheels are conventionally steerable, are in common use by homeowners and professionals alike. However, for lawns having numerous obstacles, tight spaces, and/or intricate borders, mowers having zero-radius-turning (ZRT) capability are often preferred. As the name implies, “ZRT” generally indicates a vehicle having a very tight minimum turning radius, i.e., a vehicle that is highly maneuverable.
Most ZRT riding mowers have one or more drive wheels located on transversely opposing sides of a mower frame. These drive wheels may be located either near the front or rear of the vehicle. The drive wheels are independently powered by a vehicle engine so that, while one wheel may rotate in a first direction at a first speed, the other wheel may rotate in the same or different direction at the same or different speed. Rotating one drive wheel for forward motion while simultaneously slowing, stopping, or, more preferably, rotating the other drive wheel for rearward motion, causes the mower to spin generally about its center, e.g., execute a sharp turn. Typically, the mower includes one or more caster wheels in addition to the drive wheels to support the remaining weight of the mower yet not interfere with the mower's ability to execute sharp turns.
While advantageous due to their high degree of maneuverability, ZRTs having large cutting decks are also adept at mowing large, open areas. It is this versatility that makes ZRT mowers particularly popular among professionals such as landscape contractors and commercial grounds maintenance workers.
Because commercial-grade mowers generally operate at relatively high duty cycles (high ratio of operating time to total time), they have correspondingly increased maintenance schedules. For instance, changing of the cutting blades and cleaning of the cutting deck are performed more frequently (e.g., sometimes once a day or more) to ensure that optimal cutting efficiency is maintained. Accordingly, mowers that provide convenient access to the underside of the cutting deck are advantageous.
Some mowers that provide such convenient access are those having an “outfront” cutting deck geometry. As the name implies, outfront ZRTs position the cutting deck in front of the vehicle to allow the cutting deck to be easily raised, often to a position that is 90 degrees or more from the operating position. This raised position permits generally unimpeded access to the underside of the cutting deck, and thus, the cutting blades. While advantageous, positioning the cutting deck forward of the vehicle typically results in a more complex, longer, and expensive mower.
An alternative to outfront ZRTs, are “mid-mount” mowers. Mid-mount ZRTs position the cutting deck underneath the mower frame, i.e., between the forward, e.g., caster, wheels, and the rear, e.g., drive, wheels, allowing a potentially shorter overall length and less complex deck/vehicle interconnection.
While potentially yielding a less expensive mower, mid-mount ZRTs do not provide the convenient flip-up deck of their outfront counterparts. Accordingly, deck maintenance, e.g., blade replacement and deck cleaning, requires either access via the limited space available between the deck and the ground or, alternatively, external jacking of the mower.
One potential solution to this problem is to utilize an on-board jacking device. Automobiles and trailers having such devices are known (see e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,955,649 (Nuccio) and 5,702,089 (Hurd)). However, these devices do not address the unique requirements of mowers and other ground maintenance vehicles. For example, the configuration, e.g., relatively low ground clearance, of mowers provides limited space within the vehicle envelope in which to manipulate and store the jacking device when not in use.
Apparatus and methods for use with a ground maintenance vehicle, e.g., a mower, that address these and other problems would therefore be desirable.